Betta serendipity

I had such fun today. A dear friend found a 2 gallon tank in a thrift
store and decided to keep fish for the first time since her childhood.
She came to me ready to follow the instructions and put a bunch of fish in
the tank. (!)

I got over to her house and found to my delight that the thrift store
tank is a Wal-Mart branded Marineland Eclipse Explorer (Star-Fish or
something?). The stocking instructions included with the tank are
unfortunate. They say to start with 1-2 fish or 5 is OK if they are
small and then add more fish gradually over a 4-6 week period. The
manual says the most you can have depends on the size as follows...

10 fish under 1" long (White Clouds, Guppies, etc.)
5 medium fish - about 1" (Barbs, Tetras, Zebra Danios, Corydoras,
Rasboras)
3 large fish - 1-1/2" to 2" (Goldfish, Giant Danios, Paradise Fish,
Platies, Mollies, etc.)

Maybe you could maintain that many fish in two gallons, but can you
imagine three giant danios or adult mollies in a two gallon tank?!?
Three paradise fish makes an even more interesting mental picture.

So...I offered her the turquoise blue betta that I pulled out of my
community tank last month. He's been hanging out in a bowl and I
haven't been sure what to do with him anyway. I guess he came into my
hands on the way to hers. ;-) He's really easy to feed because after
living in a community he learned to eat anything that hits the surface.
I know he's healthy and won't die on her in a week or two like brand
new bettas can. She wasn't sure about a betta on the phone. When she
got here, he swam up to her and did his little betta dance, flashing his
irridescent turquoise fins. It was love at first sight. Some gravel in
blue and purple tones, cuttings from my huge microsorum fern tied to a
bit of wood, a clump of christmas moss, and a couple of tiny ceramic
turtles completed the aquascape.

My friend is thrilled with the look of the tank and has promised to
stick to just the betta for at least the next month.

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to email me.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

On Mon, 08 May 2006 14:30:51 -0500, Altum
wrote:

I had such fun today. A dear friend found a 2 gallon tank in a thrift
store and decided to keep fish for the first time since her childhood.
She came to me ready to follow the instructions and put a bunch of fish
in
the tank. (!)

I got over to her house and found to my delight that the thrift store
tank is a Wal-Mart branded Marineland Eclipse Explorer (Star-Fish or
something?). The stocking instructions included with the tank are
unfortunate. They say to start with 1-2 fish or 5 is OK if they are
small and then add more fish gradually over a 4-6 week period. The
manual says the most you can have depends on the size as follows...

10 fish under 1" long (White Clouds, Guppies, etc.)
5 medium fish - about 1" (Barbs, Tetras, Zebra Danios, Corydoras,
Rasboras)
3 large fish - 1-1/2" to 2" (Goldfish, Giant Danios, Paradise Fish,
Platies, Mollies, etc.)

Maybe you could maintain that many fish in two gallons, but can you
imagine three giant danios or adult mollies in a two gallon tank?!?
Three paradise fish makes an even more interesting mental picture.

So...I offered her the turquoise blue betta that I pulled out of my
community tank last month. He's been hanging out in a bowl and I
haven't been sure what to do with him anyway. I guess he came into my
hands on the way to hers. ;-) He's really easy to feed because after
living in a community he learned to eat anything that hits the surface..
I know he's healthy and won't die on her in a week or two like brand
new bettas can. She wasn't sure about a betta on the phone. When she
got here, he swam up to her and did his little betta dance, flashing his
irridescent turquoise fins. It was love at first sight. Some gravel in
blue and purple tones, cuttings from my huge microsorum fern tied to a
bit of wood, a clump of christmas moss, and a couple of tiny ceramic
turtles completed the aquascape.

My friend is thrilled with the look of the tank and has promised to
stick to just the betta for at least the next month.

Good Man !!


--
.........-ED

On Mon, 08 May 2006 14:30:51 -0500, Altum
wrote:

I had such fun today

My friend is thrilled with the look of the tank and has promised to stick
to just the betta for at least the next month.



Its always nice getting someone else into betta's or even just the hobby of
keeping fish..I love when people come over and are checking out all the
betta's, and then want one....I bought my mother one as a present, now she
has my 55g tank and wants fish, but she is determined to put her red betta
in there, so she is going to work around him
My neighbor wants some of the babies from this spawn but said i want them
for my kids room, he is young 2 1/2 and not good with pets i said umm, yeah
we will see...not getting one of my babies no way..
I know what you mean about the small tanks and directions my mom ran into
the same thing she called me from the store and read them to me when she was
looking for a tank for mr. fish (red betta) she said about the same thing
(oh it says you can keep 10 fish in it) it was a 5g i said yeah mom i dont
think so..
Nik

On Mon, 08 May 2006 19:30:51 GMT, Altum
wrote:

I had such fun today. A dear friend found a 2 gallon tank in a thrift
store and decided to keep fish for the first time since her childhood.
She came to me ready to follow the instructions and put a bunch of fish in
the tank. (!)

I got over to her house and found to my delight that the thrift store
tank is a Wal-Mart branded Marineland Eclipse Explorer (Star-Fish or
something?). The stocking instructions included with the tank are
unfortunate. They say to start with 1-2 fish or 5 is OK if they are
small and then add more fish gradually over a 4-6 week period. The
manual says the most you can have depends on the size as follows...

10 fish under 1" long (White Clouds, Guppies, etc.)
5 medium fish - about 1" (Barbs, Tetras, Zebra Danios, Corydoras,
Rasboras)
3 large fish - 1-1/2" to 2" (Goldfish, Giant Danios, Paradise Fish,
Platies, Mollies, etc.)

Maybe you could maintain that many fish in two gallons, but can you
imagine three giant danios or adult mollies in a two gallon tank?!?
Three paradise fish makes an even more interesting mental picture.

So...I offered her the turquoise blue betta that I pulled out of my
community tank last month. He's been hanging out in a bowl and I
haven't been sure what to do with him anyway. I guess he came into my
hands on the way to hers. ;-) He's really easy to feed because after
living in a community he learned to eat anything that hits the surface.
I know he's healthy and won't die on her in a week or two like brand
new bettas can. She wasn't sure about a betta on the phone. When she
got here, he swam up to her and did his little betta dance, flashing his
irridescent turquoise fins. It was love at first sight. Some gravel in
blue and purple tones, cuttings from my huge microsorum fern tied to a
bit of wood, a clump of christmas moss, and a couple of tiny ceramic
turtles completed the aquascape.

My friend is thrilled with the look of the tank and has promised to
stick to just the betta for at least the next month.

Now you need to get your friend a good aquarium book. I just read that
95% of people with aquariums have never read an aquarium book. I have
no idea if that's true or not, but it does make one wonder. I suppose
that if everyone read aquarium books the fish supply industry would
take a nosedive as well as the medicine makers. I just got a new/old
book in the mail today, The Complete Idiot's Guide To Freshwater
Aquariums, I had read the yellow and black Dummies Guide some while
ago and it was really bad. The idiot's guide came on the
recommendation of Elaine, someone who used to post here a lot, but
seems to have faded into the sunset. It was a bear to find it - even
though it was just published a few years ago it is out of print, so I
had to shop the used book sources and found a like new copy for $8.
Hope it's better than the Yellow and Black book.



-- Mister Gardener
-- Pull the WEED to email me

"Mister Gardener" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 08 May 2006 19:30:51 GMT, Altum

I just read that
95% of people with aquariums have never read an aquarium book. I have
no idea if that's true or not, but it does make one wonder. I suppose
that if everyone read aquarium books the fish supply industry would
take a nosedive


-- Mister Gardener
-- Pull the WEED to email me


I think 95% would be correct or at least close.. only because people today
have stopped reading books and look things up on the internet instead. My
son's six grade class had to do a report on inventors...the teacher had
wrote on the calendar they get for homework that they needed this, that, and
the other thing and one of those things were internet access, when I ask why
she said to do the report for research, I said what about going to the
library and taking out a book and she said well they can use the computers
down at the school library. They also have computers in class, and instead
of using the dictionary to look up words they use the computer (where my son
told me the dictionary is online at dictionary dot com)
just as now calculators are aloud for math, we were never aloud to use them,
but now they are teaching not only how to do the math but also how to do it
on a calculator
nik

"Altum" wrote in message
. com...
My friend is thrilled with the look of the tank and has promised to stick
to just the betta for at least the next month.
=================
And another aquarium addict is born. :-))
--
Koi-Lo....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
Aquariums since 1952.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö ~~~~ }((((({*

Mister Gardener wrote:

Now you need to get your friend a good aquarium book. I just read that
95% of people with aquariums have never read an aquarium book. I have
no idea if that's true or not, but it does make one wonder. I suppose
that if everyone read aquarium books the fish supply industry would
take a nosedive as well as the medicine makers. I just got a new/old
book in the mail today, The Complete Idiot's Guide To Freshwater
Aquariums, I had read the yellow and black Dummies Guide some while
ago and it was really bad. The idiot's guide came on the
recommendation of Elaine, someone who used to post here a lot, but
seems to have faded into the sunset. It was a bear to find it - even
though it was just published a few years ago it is out of print, so I
had to shop the used book sources and found a like new copy for $8.
Hope it's better than the Yellow and Black book.

Guess the fish industry decided that a book that actually helps people
keep fish alive should be taken out of print. ;-)

I was actually going to send her to NippyFish and BettaTalk. I hadn't
thought of a book, but it's not a bad idea.

--
Put the word aquaria in the subject to email me.
Did you read the FAQ? http://faq.thekrib.com

Mister Gardener wrote:
On Mon, 08 May 2006 19:30:51 GMT, Altum
wrote:

I had such fun today. A dear friend found a 2 gallon tank in a thrift
store and decided to keep fish for the first time since her childhood.
She came to me ready to follow the instructions and put a bunch of fish in
the tank. (!)

I got over to her house and found to my delight that the thrift store
tank is a Wal-Mart branded Marineland Eclipse Explorer (Star-Fish or
something?). The stocking instructions included with the tank are
unfortunate. They say to start with 1-2 fish or 5 is OK if they are
small and then add more fish gradually over a 4-6 week period. The
manual says the most you can have depends on the size as follows...

10 fish under 1" long (White Clouds, Guppies, etc.)
5 medium fish - about 1" (Barbs, Tetras, Zebra Danios, Corydoras,
Rasboras)
3 large fish - 1-1/2" to 2" (Goldfish, Giant Danios, Paradise Fish,
Platies, Mollies, etc.)

Maybe you could maintain that many fish in two gallons, but can you
imagine three giant danios or adult mollies in a two gallon tank?!?
Three paradise fish makes an even more interesting mental picture.

So...I offered her the turquoise blue betta that I pulled out of my
community tank last month. He's been hanging out in a bowl and I
haven't been sure what to do with him anyway. I guess he came into my
hands on the way to hers. ;-) He's really easy to feed because after
living in a community he learned to eat anything that hits the surface.
I know he's healthy and won't die on her in a week or two like brand
new bettas can. She wasn't sure about a betta on the phone. When she
got here, he swam up to her and did his little betta dance, flashing his
irridescent turquoise fins. It was love at first sight. Some gravel in
blue and purple tones, cuttings from my huge microsorum fern tied to a
bit of wood, a clump of christmas moss, and a couple of tiny ceramic
turtles completed the aquascape.

My friend is thrilled with the look of the tank and has promised to
stick to just the betta for at least the next month.

Now you need to get your friend a good aquarium book. I just read that
95% of people with aquariums have never read an aquarium book. I have
no idea if that's true or not, but it does make one wonder. I suppose
that if everyone read aquarium books the fish supply industry would
take a nosedive as well as the medicine makers. I just got a new/old
book in the mail today, The Complete Idiot's Guide To Freshwater
Aquariums, I had read the yellow and black Dummies Guide some while
ago and it was really bad. The idiot's guide came on the
recommendation of Elaine, someone who used to post here a lot, but
seems to have faded into the sunset. It was a bear to find it - even
though it was just published a few years ago it is out of print, so I
had to shop the used book sources and found a like new copy for $8.
Hope it's better than the Yellow and Black book.



-- Mister Gardener
-- Pull the WEED to email me
Hey Mr. G. = )
I love the book *The complete idiots giude* for fresh water. It was the
first book I actually ever bought besides the Angelfish and Bettas
books I had.
For general things, I have always simply gone to the library. The books
aren't cheap, and with so many of them, why not just go to the library
and have them all right in front of you. = ) However, now in THE
FUTURE we have the internet. No need to go anywhere, but I do miss the
smell of the books.
Even the with the internet right infront of me, I still bought this
book.
I loved how everything is written in a way that every one can
understand. You don't need a degree in science to understand the
cycling process. = )~
I have recommended this book more than any other too.